Popeye for Nintendo Switch: REVIEW
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By Daniel Sumpton | Misfit Media Columnist
The announcement of an official Popeye game for the Nintendo Switch has been a rollercoaster of emotions for fans of the spinach loving sailor. From seeing the initial charming poster, to the worrisome screenshots and publisher, to the now released product, there is a lot to say about the game. Popeye for Nintendo Switch has been largely hit with negative reception on social media with critics targeting the cheapness of the visuals and overall simplicity. While I could make a review calling Popeye the WORST NINTENDO SWITCH GAME EVER and rake in the clicks, as some have been doing, I believe the game should be looked at in greater detail. The game is certainly not the worst on the system, but is it bad? Well, Let’s take a look…
As soon as you start playing Popeye, the inability to jump becomes immediately apparent and puzzling. There are many buildings, rocks, and other parts of the environment that are not accessible even though it feels that they should be. It becomes easier to speculate why the jump function is absent once you stumble across the enemy AI. A vulture and Brutus are the primary enemies who also do not have the ability to jump and cannot do anything besides chase you and attack you. The goal of the game is to run around collecting hearts or letters while avoiding taking a hit (bumping into an enemy, which will then enable them to smack you, taking one of your three lives). Once you collect all the hearts or letters, you then move onto the next map and start again. The levels becomes slightly harder each time you progress and there are only a few maps with the only environment variable being the weather. There are other enemies besides Brutus and the vulture, but they are relatively harmless.
Popeye for the Nintendo Switch - Gameplay Screenshot
The game gives surprisingly little incentive to rush to the next level. Once Popeye downs some good ol’ spinach, he is able to knock out enemies but since the enemies and the spinach constantly respawn, it’s best to find as many as you can in order to accumulate points. Your high score is the only thing that matters in the game, so it is preferable to get as many possible. The game is easy as long as you’re good dodging the dumb AI following you, so even the enemies do not provide a great level of urgency. It is more likely to hit the ‘Game Over’ screen by accidently bumping into an enemy around the corner that was hard to see than anything else. Especially because there is seemingly no way to regain lives.
While it is surprising that Popeye has the ability to swim around the outside of maps, the framerate dips are glaringly obvious when he does. The entire game consistently runs at a relatively low frame rate to big budget titles released in the past 5 years, but it never stoops to unplayable. Also, Popeye’s swimming serves no purpose as there is never anything in the water to retrieve from my playthroughs. I even swam out as far as possible and waited to see if anything happens, nothing did.
Popeye for the Nintendo Switch - Gameplay Screenshot
Putting aside the fact that the game is not easy on the eyes graphically, there are aspects of the few maps that are surprisingly well thought out. The maps that are on land are large, easy to move around, and strategically populated with buildings and items in a way that is fun to run amongst while being chased. The map that is basically a small ship is where things become slightly more laughable. The ship is small, which although a deliberate contrast from larger maps, it is too easy to be cornered by an enemy unfairly (considering how few lives the player gets). Additionally, the vulture does not seem to have the ability to fly downstairs, meaning that if you run downstairs to avoid the vulture, he will never be able to attack you until respawning.
Overall, it is not even close to the worst Nintendo Switch game of all time. The fact that the game is playable with little chance of stumbling across game crashes or game breaking bugs already takes it out of the running for that title. There are many shovelware titles on the Switch that are barely operable and even games from large publishers that are dreadful. Blacksad: Under the Skin, Troll and I, and WWE 2K18 are all games on the Switch that come to mind from large publishers that barely work. Popeye for the Nintendo Switch is still a game so mind-numbingly simple that I would only strongly recommend to young children if the game wasn’t ridiculously rated T for Teens, (despite having less violence than a Mario game). It is clearly a rushed title that is of no significance or depth.